Hopelessly trapped at Yorktown, Virginia, British General Lord
Cornwallis surrendered 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to a
larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing an end to the
American Revolution.

Lord Cornwallis was one of the most capable British generals
of the American Revolution. In 1776, he drove General George
Washington’s Patriots forces out of New Jersey, and in 1780
he won a stunning victory over General Horatio Gates’ Patriot
army at Camden,South Carolina.

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
(December 31, 1738 – October 5, 1805)